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Baby Earrings

Hi,

I am a mother of a 4-month old baby girl. She is very adorable and charming. She smiles a lot like a doll. However, when I bring her out for a walk, people would see her as a boy. I'll say 3 out of 10 people thinks that she is a boy. My mum suggested to have my baby's ear pierced. Now I would like to know the appropriate age for babies to have their ears pierced. I am a little bit concerned that it might cause my baby some pain and it could be uncomfortable for her since her head is still lying on her sides during her sleep.

Personally I would not worry if other people think your baby is a girl or a boy. Lots of people get the sex of babies mixed up: it is extremely common. In fact, I think only 3 out of 10 people thinking your little girl is a boy is a lower 'confusion rate' than a lot of my friends get!

On the gentle parenting journey, I am learning more and more that it does not matter what others think: I have to do what is best for my baby first and foremost.

If you did want to make it more obvious but were still unsure about getting her ears pierced then you could dress her in very girlie clothes or put a headband on her head.

I have to agree with LJ. I have four children and they have all been confused as the opposite gender at one point or another. It really is not that big of a deal to me. Personally, I would not consider getting my daughter's ears pierced during infancy. It is painful and there is a chance of infection. If it really bothers you, then just put a fancy bow on her or dress her in ultra-girly clothes. It is far safer and less painful for the babe. However, if you are sure you want to do the ear piercing, be prepared to keep the area very clean and find someone who is experienced in piercing babies.

I'm in agreement with ljmarsden and mom2many - My babies were "bald" until they were two (very little hair and very light blond, so you couldn't see it). So I just made a point of having my girls wear pink and often put them in dresses. But the pink can be very helpful - now, when I look at a baby and I can't tell if they are a boy or a girl, I look at the color of their clothing. Pink or purple definitely helps! (My husband was not a big fan of headbands, but those help too!)

Thanks for your insights! Well, getting my baby's ears pierced would be painful on her part. So I think it would be better to dress her with pretty pink clothes and headbands. Just like what everyone of you advised. Though I still want to get her ears pierced someday, when is the best possible age to do this?

I know that when I took blood from two of my children to have their blood typed, I found that the ear lobes were the least painful place to do it (less painful than a finger prick or a toe prick).

But, nonetheless, it does cause pain.

If you want to pierce your daughter's ears it probably won't matter when you do it, because it will be painful for her no matter what.

My daughter wanted to get her ears pierced when she was in her teens, so we let her (though we put restrictions on the types of earrings she could wear). You could wait until your daughter is older and decides, for herself, that she wants her ears pierced. That's what I would do.

Ask yourself this question. If I pierce my daughter's ears, what will the benefit be to her? If it's just that she won't be mistaken for a boy, then you have other, non-painful, options. If there truly is no benefit to her, then really think about why you're wanting to do it, and if it's just to satisfy a desire within you, then you may want to wait and let her make the decision when she's able to make a responsible decision about it. Those little ear lobes belong to her, so maybe she should be the one to make the choice of whether she wants a hole placed in her ear lobes or not.

Just something to consider. Be sure you have absolute peace about the decision before going forward. Once you have peace, you will know what the right decision is.

My daughter had her ear pierced when she was 3 months old. Like what Kate said, my daughter looked like a boy when she came out. Honestly, (I don't know if I can associate it with baby blues or post-partum) I couldn't help myself but get offended when people say so. Because of this, I told my husband to let Noelle wear a pair of earrings.

When we took her to the paediatrician and had her ear pierced she screamed a lot! My heart got really broken. Until now she's wearing those first pair of earrings but I recently noticed that the pierced on her right ear is misaligned now. What should I do? Should I take the earrings off?

"Those who don't believe in love at first sight have not given birth." ♥ Hidden Content

I just can imagine how my baby would feel when I get her ears pierced. Just like when she gets her monthly vaccination. It really is heartbreaking hearing her cry. I think Kate's advise is really good, to wait for the right time when my baby is old enough to decide for herself.